J&K local polls see 50% turnout in final phase, results out on Dec 22

State Election Commissioner (SEC) KK Sharma said that Jammu recorded 72.71% and Kashmir registered 29.91% voting in the last phase. In all, 50.98 % polling was recorded in the state in the final phase, he added. The results for all the 280 seats will be out on December 22.

Elections to 28 constituencies in the final phase of eight-phased district development council (DDC) polls, which saw 50.98% voting, concluded without any major incident on Saturday, officials said.

The polling process was largely peaceful barring a couple of grenade attacks on the security forces and an attack on the Apni party candidate in South Kashmir. (ANI Photo)

State Election Commissioner (SEC) KK Sharma said that Jammu recorded 72.71% and Kashmir registered 29.91% voting in the last phase. In all, 50.98 % polling was recorded in the state in the final phase, he added. The results for all the 280 seats will be out on December 22.

Sharma said that final polling percentage for all the eight phases in J&K was now recorded as 51.76%. “The highest 74.62 % poll percentage was recorded in Reasi district of Jammu and Pulwama district in Kashmir division recorded the lowest at 6.70%.”

Sharma who briefed the media about the poll percentage said that Srinagar district recorded 33.76% voting.

The polling process was largely peaceful barring a couple of grenade attacks on the security forces and an attack on the Apni party candidate in South Kashmir. A personal security officer (PSO) of a former PDP leader was also killed in Srinagar during the long-drawn electoral process.

Even on the last day of the polling state election commissioner, KK Sharma visited Wavora in Kupwara district.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ran a high octane campaign for the DDC polls while the Peoples’ Alliance for Gupkar Declaration or the PAGD-- an amalgam of six political parties, mainly regional-- left the campaigning duties to their grassroots workers.